CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It may have been the worst debate that President Bush has ever had – while Democrat John Kerry scored one of his best.

In debates, Bush has a history of being crisp and focused and able to stay right on message, but last night he came across as hesitant and defensive, unable to get his points across clearly.

All year, Kerry has been all over the map on Iraq, flip-flopping on whether he’s for or against the war and contradicting himself, but last night Kerry was on-message and unyielding as he insisted he’s been consistent.

It’s almost as if Bush and Kerry swapped places – it was Kerry who was focused and aggressive while Bush sounded more like the senator, tangled into jargon and using insider phrases like “six-party talks” with North Korea.

Kerry also had a laser-clear way of presenting himself as the agent of change for people who fear America is on the wrong track, summing Bush’s program in four cold words, “More of the same.”

But Republicans shrugged off polls showing that Kerry won the debate, saying that’s not what will decide the vote.

Pro-Bush Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Senator Kerry did a good job debating, but I don’t think Senator Kerry was able to reconcile his different positions on Iraq while the president affirmed and reaffirmed his rock-solid leadership.”

For Kerry, last night was do-or-die. Already sliding in the polls, he was in real danger of falling out of the presidential race unless he scored some solid hits. But he came through when he most needed to.

The debate could give Kerry a fresh start and a real rebound – and will force Bush and his aides to rethink their entire debate strategy, because it certainly didn’t work last night.

“I think we’ve got a long campaign ahead of us,” said Kerry spokesman Mike McCurry with a smile. And he was almost certainly right.

Above all, by being the dominant figure in a debate with the president, Kerry validated himself as a potential commander-in-chief and set himself on a more equal footing.

Bush also got caught by the camera at times scowling or looking peeved as he listened to Kerry’s remarks, and the president even seemed to make some audible sighs, shades of Al Gore in 2000.

By contrast, the normally somber Kerry kept a smile on his face or took notes when Bush was speaking.

Perhaps Bush was tired from racing around to comfort hurricane victims the morning of the debate, or too confident, or maybe he got over-briefed as Ronald Reagan did in his disastrous first debate with Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984.